In this article, we follow on from the last blog, ‘Your ISO55000 101’ where we introduced the basics, including the proven benefits IS55000 brings upon an asset management operation. Here, we detail how you can take the first steps to embedding ISO55000 principles within your business with an audit or review process, which will get your baseline right for a successful implementation and continuous improvement as the operation matures.
Tip #1: Start with clear expectations
Our Asset Performance Solutions consulting team is working on a range of Asset Management (AM) and Business Improvement Projects at any point in time. With this experience, I can attest that the success of any project hinges on change management and communication; clarity is critical. This is so true in the AM process where there are many different skills involved and people required to complete components of any AM process.
This is also true of your ISO 55000 implementation: start with clearly defined accountabilities so that the required standard of equipment function is reached, and so you get the highest return from your asset management effort.
To do this, frontline Teams will need to accept that:
- They are doing only work that is planned.
- They need to do the work well the first time, when it is scheduled and to do it in a safe and effective manner.
- They are responsible for providing quality feedback on every job.
Planning & Engineering Teams must:
- Plan work when it needs to be done
- Focus on planning work that will prevent and eliminate failures
- Provide quality, long-term schedules with all details required
- Measure, analyse, review and continuously improve their planning and scheduling standards.
The implementation of ISO 55000 or alignment to its principles, and embedding these functions into your management systems and business processes is achieved in a three-stage process:
- Audit: Review the business to understand your current state and to set a baseline. Contrast this with where you want the business to be so you can identify gaps between the current situation and performance goals. This will provide some clarity around priority actions, and a good starting point for measuring your improvement.
- Understand your maturity across core asset management systems including Lifecycle Delivery, AM decision-making, Asset Information and Strategy and Planning.
- Set and schedule the next review – we recommend this is done annually, or bi-annually.
Start with clearly defined accountabilities. Focus on reaching the standard of equipment function that is required so that you get the highest return from your asset management effort.
STEP 1: The Audit
The first step in your ISO55000 project is a review of asset management processes being used in the field. This is fundamental to setting the starting point for the measurement of continuous improvement projects, as well as achieving the clarity and accountability that is required for success.
Start with a situational analysis. It’s critical to review:
- What is actually happening out in the field (rather than documented process), and discrepancies from what’s written down in manuals or Visio, etc.
- Identify rituals and routines.
- Define accountabilities and responsibilities of your organisation.
- Review Asset Management (AM) processes – we’ve identified 106 processes that enable the practical use and management of the asset management framework – check out an example of processes, and how we’ve grouped them so you can align the AM Subject priorities based on an outcome.
- At this step, you’ll also need to review processes that don’t align with delivery priorities, unnecessary or duplicate roles, or where processes fail.
- It’s also important to dig into deviations from processes to identify the root cause of issues, and how they can be addressed.
These will become your key improvement initiatives. Each one should have a value proposition – what it will deliver to individuals, teams or the business. An example to explain: The key improvement initiative is management of maintenance strategy and tactics – specifically, (PMs) activities. The value proposition this delivers the business is the confidence that maintenance strategy and tactics are being executed as designed to satisfy your predefined risk, time and cost limitations.
STEP 2: Assess Maturity
Discuss the maturity of your processes. Lay out your key improvement initiatives and prioritise them according to the value they offer the business. This will become your implementation roadmap.
And once this is all done, present key findings, value propositions and timings from your implementation roadmap. APS’ audit applies weighting so that your roadmap effectively prioritises sections of the AM system in line with organisational need.
Tip #2: Scoping your Review
At APS, we’ve identified over 100 AM processes that could be part of your review, depending on your business. While inclusions may vary, I regularly examine these broad subject areas to understand the organisation’s current state, opportunities for optimisation or gaps to be addressed, and the baseline for improvement:
- Organisation: this includes a review of objectives, structure and responsibilities and strategic plans.
- Processes & Practices: take a detailed look at service levels, risk, maintenance, asset management planning, spares and stores.
- Resources: scope the organisation’s capability, lines of communication and awareness of organisational goals within teams.
- Management Plans: review asset management plans.
- Data & Knowledge: data and knowledge standards, quality assurance, access and security is critically important to getting value from management systems, which should be empowering teams to complete their work efficiently, whilst complying with accepted process and standards.
- A detailed review of Management Systems should encompass your asset register, capital works systems, maintenance management tools, spatial mapping, risk, customer and inventory systems – and more.
- Continuous Improvement and Change Management programs.
It’s considerably easier and more efficient to complete this audit process with an external party, who may guide the process with impartiality. An experienced consultant will also bring broader industry perspective and make a truly rigorous review easier and more efficient by knowing the questions to ask.
At the end of Stage One of your ISO55000 Implementation, your audit process, should include the following products necessary for the next step:
- The baseline: this outlines the expected standards of work from your asset management organisation. This will assist with monitoring performance improvements in future years/ every second year.
- Problem processes– these are identified by drilling down on where/why team members deviate from existing process
- Accountabilities across teams
- Key improvement initiatives will be identified, including the value proposition each brings to the business
- And finally, each initiative will be prioritised or scheduled into an implementation roadmap according to the value it delivers on the expected standard of asset health or reliability.
In the next blog, we’ll detail some tips’n’tricks to implementation or how you can embed ISO55000 processes into the organisation to mature AM processes and CMMS alignment.
If you’d like more information on our experience in this space, get in touch to discuss your requirements.